


Winged Watchers

by TheRealBurgerKing



Category: Monbebe
Genre: Alternate Universe - They aren't human, Jooheon is younger than Changkyun in this, M/M, Rebellion, Slow Build to Romance, because he's a cute lil baby, vive le revolution
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-20
Updated: 2018-02-22
Packaged: 2019-03-21 13:58:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 3,763
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13742418
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheRealBurgerKing/pseuds/TheRealBurgerKing
Summary: Kihyun is living the perfect life, with his friends and job, and he has proven himself multiple times.But when some rebels capture him and show him what's really happening, his world will be turned upside down.





	1. Chapter 1

   Kihyun leapt through the trees, wings bent to avoid slowing him down, but ready to catch him if he fell. His cat-like ears twitched and turned, listening back while he focused his eyes on his “prey”. Suddenly, he froze on a tree limb, having to throw his wings out and wrap his tail around the branch to stop himself. Rocking back on his heels, he waited. Silence filled the usually noisy forest. Kihyun’s heartbeat sped up, and he clenched his slightly-webbed hands. He ignored the sting of his claws digging into his palms, instead silently cursing himself for his negligence. Someone was following him, and he hadn’t even noticed. Kihyun turned around on the branch, flattening his ears and clicking his teeth. The small, red-haired Atax spread his wings, attempting to make himself appear bigger and more menacing. The forest remained silent and still, and Kihyun briefly doubted his senses. But he didn’t have time to reconsider. Something shot out of the leaves of a tree not too far away. Before Kihyun could react, the thing slammed into him, sweeping him off the branch and smashing him into the hard forest floor. Kihyun’s eyesight went hazy as his head hit the ground, and the air was sucked out of his lungs like a vacuum. The heavy weight squashing Kihyun disappeared immediately, but the red-head continued to lay there, regaining his sight and breath. 

    “I’m sorry if I hurt you, but I can’t let you stop him.” The voice came from behind Kihyun. It was deeper than Kihyun’s, with a hint of roughness. The voice sounded strangely familiar. As Kihyun returned to his senses, he realized with a pang that he was laying on his wing, bent beneath him. It hurt badly, but he ignored it, rolling over to see his attacker. It was a tallish boy with red hair, redder than Kihyun’s, and muscles that Kihyun couldn’t help noticing. Unlike Kihyun’s, whose wing feathers were pure white, this boy’s feathers were the same shade of red as his hair. As Kihyun studied the boy, he noticed fuzzy baby feathers still nestled amongst adult ones, suggesting that Kihyun’s attacker was younger than him. Shoving himself to his feet, Kihyun brushed himself off, frowning as his hurt wing hung limp. Looking back, he saw the kid still standing there, grinning. As Kihyun opened his mouth to ask him what he wanted, something hard was whammed into the back of his head. Kihyun collapsed to the ground, unconsciousness interrupting his exasperated internal eye roll.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

    Kihyun wasn’t sure how long he had been unconscious, or if he was even awake at the moment. Although he was certain he had his eyes open, he could not see. Kihyun flexed each of his muscles, checking for damage. None, just his head throbbing. Then he remembered. His wing. Focusing on it, he found it no longer hurt; it was numb from a cold ice wrapping. Check up finished, Kihyun realized where he was - a damp, underground place, probably a dungeon. He was tied to a chair, his wings compressed between his body and the back of the chair. Kihyun twitched his ears, finding that his head was covered with what felt like a burlap sack. It certainly smelled like one. Straining his ears, Kihyun could hear, not too far away, voices murmuring. He heard a “I had to!” and then a “Shhh!”, and he clicked his teeth in annoyance, swallowing back a growl. A familiar voice suddenly sounded close to Kihyun’s right, “He’s awake now. Why don’t we meet our hostage?” Sounds of movement, then the sack was pulled from his head. The first thing Kihyun did was glare threateningly at his kidnappers. Unfortunately, the boy standing in front of him squealed. 

    “Omo! He’s so cute!” Kihyun recognized him as the “prey” he had been chasing earlier. The boy was a little taller than Kihyun, with blonde hair, sparkling eyes, and the brightest smile Kihyun had seen in his life. He didn’t have ears or a tail like the other two, but what really caught Kihyun’s attention was his wings. They were the darkest black Kihyun had ever seen, but still looked soft and fluffy. This boy was definitely not an Atax. Looking to his right, Kihyun saw the boy who had attacked him, and curled his lip, coldly turning away to study the figure to his left. It was another boy with brown hair, ears, and tail, definitely younger than the others. His wings were beautiful, a mixture of colors like Kihyun had never seen before - changing from light purple to blue to green. The boy just steadily gazed at the older, very little emotion showing on his face. 

    Kihyun was the first to speak, “Who are you? Why am I here? What do you want with me?” Pretty Wings spoke first.

    “You saw what Joo… You saw what Dum-Dum over there looked like. We could’t just let you walk away, could we?” Kihyun cracked a smile at the name. In all honesty, it sort of fit him. Red-Head gasped indignantly, but before he could begin an argument, Blondie broke in. 

    “Let’s put him in the cell until we can trust him. Tying someone up like that for long periods of time can be physically harmful." Nodding, Red-Head untied Kihyun and pulled him to his feet by his arm. Together, he and Pretty Wings led Kihyun to an empty cell nearby. After locking him in, Pretty Wings and Blondie flew off, but Red-Head remained, leaning against the gate. 

    “Hey, sorry about this. You’ll have to stay here until we can convince you. I’ll come back soon, ok?”

    Kihyun rushed to the door. “Hey! Convince me of what?! What do I not know?!” But instead of answering, Red-Head grinned at him, backed away, and took off. A fluffy, red baby feather floated down and landed beside him as Kihyun let out a yell of pure frustration.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ataxes are a creature I made up for this story.  
> They have cat-like ears; strong, monkey-like tails; feathered wings; sharp nails and semi-webbed hands, used for catching fish; extremely sharp senses. Generally, the wings, hair, ears and tail are all the same color.  
> Kihyun's wings are a different color (white) from his hair (red), for a reason that will be explored in later chapters.
> 
> Also, everyone is an Atax (the story is set in their country), except for Minhyuk, Wonho, and Hyungwon. Minhyuk's a Fallen Angel, and Wonho and Hyungwon are Butterfly Mages.


	2. Chapter 2

    Kihyun raised his head, blinking in the dim light. He flicked his ears and surveyed his surroundings from where he lay, curled in the far back corner of his cell. Everything came rushing back at once and Kihyun rolled onto his back, groaning, gripping his tail in both hands and sucking on the tip. These were the times he missed Hyungwon and his motherly fussing, and Wonho laughing in the background at Kihyun’s futile protests. Kihyun unconsciously whimpered. Although he had trained for this for years, right now, he was terrified. All alone, these three could do whatever they wanted to him. He was small and weak, and rather defenseless. 

    A hand touched his head and he flew backwards, slamming into the wall. He took flight, forgetting his position with his wings against the wall, and crashed back to the ground, feathers flying everywhere. “Whoa there, Grasshopper. Calm down. I won’t hurt you.” Peering up, Kihyun recognized Pretty Wings, standing over him. Faint amusement glinted in his eyes. Kihyun snarled in annoyance. How dare this youngster laugh at him, an elder member of his species? Pretty Wings crouched beside him. “Hey. I thought you might be hungry, so I brought you something.” He held out a small plate of noodles and what looked like chicken.

    Kihyun slowly sat up, only to have another heart attack when a second voice spoke somewhere nearby. “Fraternizing with the enemy, huh maknae?” Red-Head was hanging by his knees from a pole stretching through the cell from one wall to the other. His red wings were hanging, stretched out, on either side of him.

    Pretty Wings snorted, wrinkling his nose in distaste. “Of course not. I just pitied him, lying here like a lost mutt on the streets, all on his lonesome.” He took off with a snobbish huff, leaving Kihyun with the plate. Red-Head slid off his pole and landed somewhat gracefully on his feet. He bounced over and plopped down in front of Kihyun. His smile was almost too happy for Kihyun to tolerate.

    “Hi! We sort of got off on the wrong foot, what with maknae knocking you out, us tying you up, locking you in a cell, etcetera. I really hope you don’t hate me. I couldn’t take it knowing someone hated me! It would break my heart. I like you! Let’s be friends! Let’s try this over. I’m Jooheon! I really like kittens and puppies and drawing and eating and…”

    Kihyun stared at him in astonishment as he blabbered on, completely oblivious to the fact that Kihyun was starving, he had food, but no chopsticks. How could this kid have so many words spilling out of his mouth? Did he even know what he was saying? A yowl pulled Kihyun from his mental questions, and he refocused his eyes to realize that Pretty Wings had just clobbered Red-Head - Jooheon - over the head with a pillow. “Stop your needless babbling, it’s annoying.” He turned to Kihyun and held out a pair of chopsticks. “Sorry, I forgot to give you these.” Before Kihyun could thank him, he flew off. 

    Jooheon was now sitting there sulking, unhappy. Kihyun gazed at him for a moment. “You really like to talk, don’t you?” Jooheon nodded sadly, firmly keeping his mouth shut. “Alright, I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to be friends.” Jooheon perked up, his smile returning. “My name is Kihyun, I’m one of the city guards.”

    Jooheon’s eyes widened. “You’re a guard?! That’s why you were following Minhyuk!” As soon as that popped out, Jooheon smacked his hand over his mouth and flattened his ears. “I shouldn’t have said that. I really shouldn’t have said that.” Kihyun twitched his ears. 'Minhyuk? He must be Blondie.' The red Atax shot away squawking, leaving Kihyun sitting there in confusion.

    He returned a few minutes later, accompanied by Blondie - Minhyuk - and Pretty Wings. Pretty Wings looked furious, while Minhyuk just shook his head. Pretty Wings turned on Jooheon first. “Well done, idiot! Now we can never let him go! You really missed up this time.” Minhyuk shot Pretty Wings a glare.

    “What’s done is done. He’s a guard, he could help us.” 

    Kihyun flattened his ears and screwed his eyes up. “Help you? Help you do what?!” Jooheon, still sad about getting yelled at by his younger friend, pranced over to Kihyun and buried his face in the older boy’s neck. After hesitating a moment, Kihyun lightly rubbed his back and gave him a small hug. 

    Pretty Wings led the group to a small room filled with monitors, papers, chairs - there was no end to the mess. No matter what, Jooheon refused to let go of Kihyun, clinging to his back for comfort. Pretty Wings, now known as Changkyun, proceeded into the room, picking up random objects, skirting teetering piles of books. Kihyun had never seen such a place, looking like a massive tornado had come through. It made him uncomfortable.

    The explaining and convincing took a couple of hours, but in the end, Kihyun believed them. He finally saw what his leaders, the lords and kings, were doing. He had never known - all his time was spent in the guard rooms, making the rounds, on the wall. He had had no idea how greedy, selfish and just plain EVIL his bosses were. Kihyun sat there in the chair in shock, staring at the pictures in his hands. Jooheon sat beside him on the floor, playing with Kihyun’s tail. “… How? How could I have never known?”

    Minhyuk took the pictures from him. “This is why you  being a guard can help us. You can help us get in and overthrow the king. We can save the people.” Kihyun nodded slowly, imagining the underground tunnels and passageways beneath the city frequented by the guards. Changkyun grabbed Minhyuk and pulled him to the other side of the room.

    “Hyung, are you sure we can trust him? What if he betrays us? He knows our names and what we look like. He could lead his fellow guards to us.” The pair glanced back at the former-guard. Jooheon was now sitting in front of him, still on the floor, legs wrapped around Kihyun’s feet, elbows resting on Kihyun’s knees. He was listening intently as the older Atax was speaking.

    Minhyuk shook his head. “Look at them. Jooheon adores Kihyun. Have you ever seen him look at anyone like that? I think we can trust him. He knows what’s going on now. Did you see his reaction? He will help us, trust me.” Changkyun gazed at him unwaveringly. He nodded and returned to the other two, practically dragging Jooheon to his feet. After a few exchanges, they seemed to have come to an agreement of some kind. Minhyuk watched from afar.

    Jooheon suddenly got super excited. His beating wings accidentally knocked over several piles of stuff, but he ignored it. He grabbed Kihyun’s hand and pulled him up. “Kihyunnie-Hyung can room with me!!” Without waiting for an answer, he took off, headed for the living quarters. Kihyun was forced to beat his wings quickly, and the two left Minhyuk and Changkyun standing there, shaking their heads with small smiles.


	3. Flashback

    Outside, the fresh winter snow covered the ground like a thick blanket. The sky seemed grim and somber, stars blinking throughout the dark expanse. Look once, the wind whistled through the branches of the neighboring trees. Look twice, a lone fox bounded past the mouth of a cave, yipping. Outside, all was at peace, and all was also freezing to death.

 

    Inside, however, a fire burned low, throwing shadows onto the wall. A mother lay on her mat, her month-old baby clinging to her chest as she fondly watched her toddler son sleepily act out a story. Her scarlet wings were folded, calm and tranquil. The toddler, finished with his epic tale, stumbled to his mother and fell face-first onto her stomach. With a touch of her hand, she guided the child to lay beside her. She wrapped her wings around him and carded her fingers through his red hair, gazing down at his sleeping face. 

 

    The mother kissed her precious children and whispered her love to them, knowing that it would be the last time.


	4. Flashback, Pt. 2

    A red-headed child with snow-white wings followed the pair of butterfly mages home, staying close but not too close. He hid in bushes and behind rocks, praying silently that they wouldn’t notice him. He would have flown after them, or at least hidden in the trees, like the rest of his species did, but he had never learned to fly. Those were the skills one learned from their mother. All he wanted was attention and food to fill his oft-empty belly. And maybe a hug, as well.

 

    The poor child was only seven years old, and had been alone for four of those years. The trauma and pain of that specific night had turned his formerly cherry-red feathers pure white. The boy had raised himself, like any child should not have to. Shunned by good citizens for the marks he bore, he had nowhere to go and no one to go to. 

 

    One of the mages, a tall young man with magnificent orange-and-brown wings, tipped his head slightly as the boy stepped on a stick. He turned fast, an orb of fire already conjured between his palms. Although his companion grabbed for him, it was too late. The orb flew towards the boy and it was all he could do to not be incinerated instantly. Fortunately, he had great reflexes, and dodged the orb. It exploded behind him, shattering a boulder and sending shards flying everywhere.

 

    The child stumbled away from the destruction and tripped. He curled himself into a ball and began to cry from fear. His wings were studded with debris, some of it puncturing his skin. The first mage rushed to his side and dropped to his knees. He flailed his arms senselessly, having no idea what to do for the child. “Wonho, Wonho! What do I do?? He’s hurt and - and - and crying!”

 

    His companion, Wonho, knelt beside him and gently rolled the child over. He stared up at them, his big, wet brown eyes wide. “It’s alright, little one. We won’t hurt you. At least, I won’t.” He smiled at the boy and brushed his tears away. “How about we introduce ourselves? I’m Wonho, and this is my mate, Hyungwon. He normally isn’t violent, but, life’s been a bit… edgy recently. May I heal you?”

 

    The boy nodded and allowed Wonho to pull out the shards and heal each cut. The whole time, he stared at Hyungwon’s face, taking in his features. He never let a single sound slip past his lips.

 

    In the end, the pair took him home and fed him, offering him a home and a family he had never known. Hyungwon was actually really nice, if a bit sarcastic, and the child lost his fear of them. That night, as he prepared for bed in the room they had set up for him, Wonho knelt in front of him. “Hey, kiddo. What did you say your name was?”

 

    The boy blinked at him and thought for a minute. It had been so long since someone had said his name, he had almost forgotten what it was. He spoke finally:

 

    “Kihyun.”


	5. Chapter 5

The resistance members sat in a circle, facing each other. Papers, maps, and bits of charcoal were scattered before them. Minhyuk flopped onto his back with a groan. One hour of discussion had passed, and they were no closer to a plan than they had been days ago.

Kihyun sighed and pushed himself to his feet. “It’s no use just sitting here and getting frustrated. Let’s take a break and eat.” Jooheon followed Kihyun closely, swiping playfully at the older’s tail. The other two boys were a step behind them. Changkyun’s ears hung limply, tail dragging in the dust.

Once in what could be called a kitchen area, Kihyun bustled about, pulling out meat and noodles. “Changkyun, chop this beef into small cubes.” Changkyun nodded in silence and turned away to find a knife. “Minhyuk, fill the pot with water.” The blonde murmured an ‘okay’ and scuttled off. “Jooheon… play with this wooden spoon and… tell stories. Hyungs will listen.” Jooheon smiled widely and accepted his task.

Of course, the first thing he did with his spoon was whack Changkyun on the head, and received an annoyed hiss in return. The redhead danced away and clambered on top of the table, wings spread and tail lashing. Seating himself in the middle of the table, Jooheon banged his spoon like a gavel. “OK LISTEN UP. THIS STORY IS ABOUT MY FAVORITE SUBJECT: ME.”

Changkyun sighed softly, sharpening his knife, while Minhyuk smiled over his shoulder at the youngest. “Ok so, my story is about how I ended up joining this group.” Kihyun’s ears pricked up. This would be interesting.

“Once upon a time, I had a family. A mother and an older brother. My mother died when I was only a baby, and my brother mysteriously disappeared. I don’t know if he’s alive or dead, but he’s probably dead, because he was only a toddler. Anyway, I was left with her diary, so I know that she loved me and that my brother and I looked alike. I don’t know how I survived, honestly.”

“I bounced from family to family. I think I was too much for most Ataxes, so they didn’t keep me for long. I just wanted to find my brother again, be some type of family again. Alas, I never found him. Instead, I found Minhyuk-hyung and Changkyun-hyung. They took me in and were able to keep up with me, even if they were sometimes reluctant.” 

Jooheon grinned at Kihyun, the older returning the smile after a minute. The meal was ready by then, as Jooheon had taken a rather long time with his story. The four young rebels sat down to their meal around the table that was once occupied by Jooheon. As the group ate in silence, Jooheon’s words ran through Kihyun’s head again. Jooheon’s life story… was surprisingly similar to Kihyun’s own life story.

When Kihyun was an Atax pup, he had a family. A mother, a little brother, and himself. He was only four years old when his family cave had been attacked by adult male Ataxes. If he remembered correctly, his mother knew these adults. She fought alone against the invaders, and was ultimately killed. Kihyun had fled with his month-old brother, eventually leaving him with a neighbor. Unfortunately, Kihyun’s Dissociative Amnesia blocked him from remembering his brother’s name. Maybe he hadn’t even been given a name. 

Jooheon looked oddly similar to Kihyun. Both shared red hair. Kihyun’s wings were pure white, unlike Jooheon’s scarlet red feathers. However, Kihyun’s feathers were white in response to the mental trauma. Originally, they were the same blood red as Jooheon’s. Normally siblings shared the same feather and hair colors… What was the meaning of this?

Jooheon’s squealing pulled Kihyun from his thoughts. The youngest was being “viciously attacked” by Minhyuk, who was trying to pepper his face with kisses. Jooheon scrambled onto Kihyun’s lap, wrapping his arms around the older’s shoulders and burying his face into Kihyun’s neck. Kihyun calmly looped an arm around Jooheon’s back and continued to sip his broth. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Changkyun staring. Was that a look of anger in his eyes? But when Kihyun focused on him, the second-youngest was focused on his soup, giving no indication of having noticed the commotion.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Later, after the meal, Kihyun wandered outside of their cave. Behind him, Minhyuk was washing the bowls and spoons. The night sky was spread out like a blanket overhead, stars sprinkled across the dark expanse. So much had changed in only a few days.

Once upon a time, Kihyun’s life had been simple. He lived with the Butterfly Mages who had raised him. Every day started and ended the same as the one before. Wake up, wash up, check in the Head Guard, switch out the Night Guard, walk his rounds, go home, sleep, repeat.

Now he was a rebel. He was going against everything he had been taught, everything he had once believed.

‘What am I getting into?’ Kihyun silently asked the moon, staring down upon him. ‘I don’t know what I’m doing anymore’.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
(“Changkyun, watch me!”  
“Jooheon, what are you doing. Jooheon, get down. Jooheon, you’re going to fall.”  
*crack*  
“I’m okay! :D”  
“Jooheon, what did I just say. Go inside now.”)


End file.
